She prepares everything.
From healing potions, spellbooks, and her wand, to gauzes, tape, and arm slings.
Madame Pomfrey approaches you, saying that Voldemort is gone. You take a breath of relief, and knowing it would mean that you have a bunch of wizards to relieve the pain of.
Students barge into the hall, getting their wounds cleaned and taking potions from nurses.
After a while, you end up healing up Blaise. When you are done, your eyes still wander around the halls, singling out every student, as if you’re looking for someone. Blaise notices this, knowing who it was.
“He left with his parents,” Blaise says. “I know you haven’t talked in a while, but it felt best to let you know.”
“I understand. Thank you” She beams at him, telling him that he can go now.
As everyone slowly left the Hospital wing’s halls, all the nurses began to clean up, picking up excess gauzes, empty vials, and other tiny litters around. Madame Pomfrey says she’ll be back in a few hours, and that she entrusts you to stay until she returns.
She was left alone, arranging all the beds, replacing the sheets and closing the curtained stalls. The sky was getting darker, and as you were about to sit-
“Got room for one more?” A familiar voice says. You turn back to see who it is.
It was Malfoy. Draco Malfoy. The only one you’ve been looking for.
“I thought you left with…” She drifts off, putting the used sheets on a laundry basket
“This place is easier to stay in for the night.” He says, hands in his pocket and looking around.
Ever since third year, you were close to him, or at least that’s what it used to be. Her feelings for him grew gradually over time, rather than hitting her like a spell. From being set as pairs in potions, which she once dreaded, to studying in the library together for divination, a beautiful friendship blooms between you two, but you soon discover that you wanted more than friendship.
Your mind goes back to where you are now, and you look at him carefully from head to toe, examining all the cuts and wounds visible, his cut-up blazer, and messed buttons.
“Done checking me out?” He says, making you blink your eyes rapidly, looking away.
“This way” You say, leading him to a curtained stall by the window.
There, you lay out the vials and other healing stuff once again, along with gauzes and bandages. You feel like someone is intently staring at you, and you look back immediately.
He stands still just behind the curtain, and you look at him dubiously.
“Lie down on the bed, Draco.” You say, eyes back to what you are preparing.
“You want me in bed already? Too fast, dear.” He bantered.
“If I didn’t know better, I’d ask you to leave already.” She says. “Seems like you’re well enough to joke around like that.”
He placed his blazer on top of the drawer by the bed, then sat down. She looks at him, handing him a vial.
“Take this” She says, then he grabs the vial, chugging it down like a shot of firewhisky. As he sat up, she saw blood stains on the bed.
“I’m gonna need you to take off your top.” She demands.
“Don’t you offer to help injured individuals take off their shirts?” he says with a smirk.
“Despite the presence of your injuries… I think you’re capable of doing that yourself, Malfoy” She says, holding his back, which immediately led to her hands becoming damp. Her eyebrows scrunch at the feeling, but she was quick enough to look normal before he looked back at her.
“Fine.” He finally gives in, sitting up and unbuttoning each button slowly.
She leaves him alone, hiding her hand stained with his blood. She cleans her hand off, grabbing cloth that she can use to clean up his ichor.
She turns to him, and he takes a deep breath. She inhales in shock, exhaling heavily. She approaches him slowly, looking at every single wound. From his chest, his arm, and when she was right beside him, his back. She was still in shock, turning to see his left arm.
“I’ll start with your back, so you can lay down while I do the forepart of your body.” She lets out an exhale, taking a seat and grabbing her wand. “Vulnera Sanentur” She says as she waves her wand, watching the bleeding spots stop. Silence continues to fill the room, aside from her voice casting healing spells.
“Why did we stop talking? I just don’t get it.”
He glances at her with a hint of confusion, as if attempting to spark a conversation. She pretends not to hear him as she grabs the wound-healing potion, his grey eyes still on her.
She places tiny drops on the scars it left, causing him to hiss. “Sorry” She says, lightly patting the ointment into the scars.
“For ignoring me or putting some ointment on without warning?” He says, slightly irritated.
She puts bandages on these wounds, then places cloth over it, separating his partially healed back to the maroon-stained sheets.
“You’ve gone mute. Aren’t you gonna answer my questions?” His eyebrow rose slightly in response to her actions.
You exhale, trying to calm yourself down. You look him in the eye.
In all honesty, you never wanted to ignore him. Your friendship, despite the hope of wanting more, was like a warm fire on a winter night. It wasn’t perfect, but it kept you going for so long. Everyone knew you were both working well academically, his grades just slightly below yours, and it has always been the same since third year. Things were simple until sixth year, during a random potions class. As the class was tasked to create a Pepperup potion. As the heat from the cauldrons rose to the room, he rolled his sleeves up, but immediately rolled his left sleeve back down.
When you saw the mark on his arm.
He may be fast, but it wasn’t fast enough for you to not be able to see the mark.
“Stop looking at my arms like that.” He asks jokingly “You have a thing for hands? Or..veiny arms that you want around your neck?” He says while playing with the ring on his hands.
“It wouldn’t be yours, trust me.” She says, unamused.
“We’ll see about that.” He says mischievously.
Ever since that encounter with Draco and that black mark, you found ways to avoid him. You made sure that you’d only talk to him when it was required, like potions. You made sure that once you saw a lock of white hair or even his two sidekicks, You’d turn another way immediately.
A few weeks passed and you found out that Katie Bell was cursed. You were not only frightened of the incident, but also of the idea that it was him. The fear took over, and you withdrew even further, avoiding him more than ever since it happened. You could not see him in the same light, with the same eyes.
You couldn’t look at him the same way anymore.
You were too scared to say everything to him. Even now that he asks for it.
“I-” Your tongue goes numb, and you recall that he could see through your head and read your thoughts like the daily prophet.
“You knew since sixth year? That’s why you stayed away? You were afraid of me?” He bombards her with questions, staring intently at her.
“Ever since I saw it, I was shocked, I didn’t know what to do. I never wanted to leave you. If anything, I truly wanted to stay by you through all of that-” She goes to the other edge of the bed, facing his right arm.
“Well then why didn’t you stay?” He asks, sitting up and crossing his arms. The atmosphere became tense.
“Because I was afraid” She answers defensively.
“Afraid of what, the mark or me?” He asks back, their faces closer to each other.
“What you could do to me knowing you have that mark.” She cries out, dropping an empty vial which she didn’t notice was on her hand since then. They both look at the shattered glass in shock.
“Allow me.”
“Don’t move.”
Draco’s attempt to get up from the bed was immediately stopped by her stern tone. She grabs all the tiny pieces of glass, wrapping it in cloth before dropping it to the waste bin.
She comes back by his side, looks down to his right bicep and sees a light scratch. “Episkey” she whispers, lightly waving her hand against the scratched arm. The scratches faded away slowly. She blinks quickly, getting rid of tears that were about to fall.
You look at his chest. You grab a small amount of healing balm, putting it on his chest, the cooling sensation hitting him. You rub circles on the wounded spot, causing him to groan.
He grabs your hand on his chest. “I-I’ll do it myself”. He says, voice breathy. You nod hesitantly, but let it go.
You walk back to his left side, facing his arm again, the dark mark facing you. Compared to moments ago, it was no longer something you feared. As you look closer, you see that it was surrounded with scars. You carefully examine the scars. They aren’t fresh scars from the war, but they weren’t exactly old. And the scratches were too deep if they were from a wand. It’s as if they were…self-inflicted.
“Were you trying to get rid of it?” She says in a brittle voice.
He doesn’t utter a word, pursing his lips.
“Nevermind. You don’t have to answer that question.” She shakes her head, preparing herself to
She hands him a potion once again, asking him to drink it. He drinks this immediately, as she wraps the mark and its scars with gauze. The healer looks at his face once more, a worried glint in her eyes.
“So…how are you feeling?” She says croakily, looking at the entirety of him, that she had just healed.
“Better.” He says, slightly hissing from the balms and ointments all over his body.
“Madame will be back in a while, or at least, I hope so. If you need anything, I’ll be outside.” She says attempting to wrap up all of her equipment as fast as she can. As she was about to leave, he grabbed her arm weakly.
“Stay with me. Please.” He says almost inaudibly.
“And for what reason should I do that?” She says, waiting for an answer.
“So we can clear things out.” He responds, hoping that it was enough.
She sits back down on the armless chair beside his bed, leaving her equipment on the nightstand. “Fill me up.”
“For the record, I would never hurt you, or anyone like that.” He says. He continues, explaining all that has happened, from how he got the mark to noticing you avoid him, and how every day went. He shared where he would always hide, when you were no longer with him on breaks and classes. You both get tired eventually, taking a peaceful night’s sleep together.
~
The next day comes, and the sunshine hits your skin, which snaps you out of your slumber.
Draco disappeared without a trace.
The sheets you woke up to were clean, Your healing materials were all closed up, and the blood-stained sheets from yesterday’s shenanigans were neatly folded in the laundry basket, along with other old sheets. You pick up your healing kit, only to see a note addressed to you.
“I hope you find this by morning, before anyone comes into the hospital wing again. As thankful I am for seeing you again and having you heal my wounds, inside and out, I apologize I have to ask for another favour from you. If a parent of mine comes looking for me, keep your lips sealed. Not even Madame Pomfrey should be informed about my, for lack of better wording, visit last night.
I would also like to use this short note as my formal apology to the catastrophe I have caused, not only to others, but most especially you. I feel like an arse for asking you why we stopped talking, knowing that I, myself, have been hiding a ton of things from you. I hope that we could find time to mend things and start over, if not, continue what relationship we had, and maybe take a step further.
Once all things have settled down, it would be nice to meet you again.
-D.M.”
P.S. I took some spare clothes I could change into. Wouldn't want me looking disheveled as I come home.
As you finish reading the note, Madame Pomfrey comes into the wing, seeing you come out of one of the stalls.
“Dear, You stayed here all night? Was there anyone that visited after I left?” She asks, concerned.
“I must have…fallen asleep while cleaning all the other stalls.” You say, hand on your forehead, hoping that she believes you.
“Alright then. Take half the day off, and I expect you to come back later today, dressed differently. Understood?” She says in a calming but authoritative tone.
You nod, heading to your own dorm, the note in your pocket.
You might have to write back soon.